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Minor League catcher Ramirez suspended 100 games

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By Alden Gonzalez
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MLB.com |

ANAHEIM -- Angels Minor League catcher Carlos Ramirez was handed a 100-game suspension on Thursday for a third positive test of what Major League Baseball called "a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program."

Ramirez, also handed a 50-game suspension at the start of last season, has spent the last two seasons in Double-A Arkansas and batted .206/.301/.400 in 48 games for the Travelers in 2013.

The 25-year-old right-handed hitter was plucked out of Arizona State University in the eighth round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft -- two years after the Angels selected him in the 34th round out of Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Ariz. -- and was rated the best defensive catcher in the Angels' system by Baseball America after the 2012 season.

MLB doesn't disclose the specific substance in violation if it doesn't pertain to a performance-enhancing drug. Ramirez's suspension will be effective at the start of the 2014 season. He's currently on the roster for Triple-A Salt Lake, but the Angels have Jett Bandy, John Hester and the recently-signed Luis Martinez as options there.